Top 10 Inventions That

Changed the World

Every decade, or perhaps every year, brings with it some epic geniuses and their ground-
breaking inventions in various fields. But then there are those inventions that, once invented,
they consume us, alter the way the human species live and make the world smarter, better and
sometimes even more fun. Here are just 10 such inventions that have metamorphosed the world
we live in.
1. Steam Engine

Inventor: James Watt

Although the first version of a steam engine dates back to 3rd century AD, it was not until
the turn of the 19th century and the advent of the Industrial Age that a modern form of
the internal combustion engine came into existence. It took decades of designing, the
blueprints of which were made by James Watt, to create the mechanism where combustion of a
fuel releases a high-temperature gas and as it expands it thereby applies pressure to a piston
and moves it. This phenomenal invention played a pivotal role in invention of other
machinery such as automobiles and airplanes that changed the face of the planet we live in.
2. Wheel

Inventor: Unknown

The idea of a symmetrical component moving in circular motion on an axis has existed in ancient
Mesopotamia, Egypt and Europe separately in different time periods. Thus, it cannot be
ascertained by whom and where the wheel emerged first, but this great invention appeared in
3500 BC and has grown to become one of mankind’s most important inventions ever. It has been
used to facilitate farming and transportation and discover other great
inventions from clocks to vehicles.
3. Printing Press

Inventor: Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450 AD borrowing heavily from
Chinese assets and applying them to a sophisticated machine. It wasn’t until the 19th century that
iron materials replaced wooden materials to speed up the process of printing. The cultural
and industrial revolution in Europe would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the rapidity
with which printing press allowed documents, books and newspapers to be disseminated to
a much wider audience in Europe. These documents included the Bible and other important texts
that allowed people to start questioning and reasoning by reading for themselves. By 1500,
twenty million had been printed in Western Europe.
4. Computer

Inventor: Charles Babbage

The principal of the modern computer was first mentioned by Alan Turing and later the
first mechanical computer was invented in early 19th century. This invention has
indeed accomplished amazing things in more areas of life than we realize. It has helped
high performance military aircrafts to fly, put a spaceship into orbit, control medical
equipment, create visual imagery, store vast amounts of information and allowed the functioning
of car, phones and power plants.
5. Internet

Inventor: Vinton Cerf

The internet was first developed in 1973 by Vinton Cerf backed by the US Department
of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). Its initial use was to provide
a network of communication within research labs and universities within United States
and expanded overtime. This invention (along with the World Wide Web) has been the foremost
revolutionary invention of the 20th century. In 1996, more than 25 million computers were
connected through the internet across 180 countries.
6. World Wide Web

Inventor: Tim Berners-Lee

The World Wide Web as we know was first predicted by Arthur Clarke when he wrote that one
day satellites would bring accumulated knowledge of the world to our fingertips, combing the
telephone, photocopier, television and computer. However, the invention was made 19 years
later in 1989 by a CERN employee, Tom Berners Lee. The web has transformed the way we
work in various field including education, music, finance, reading, medicine, dating, networking,
language and the like. The Web potentially trumps all the world’s greatest inventions.
7. Television

Inventor: Vladimir K. Zworykin and Philo Farnsworth

Although the invention of the television cannot be attributed to one person, it is largely believed
that the invention of the modern television was the work of two people: Vladimir Kosma
Zworykin (1923) and Philo Farnsworth (1927). The television was also one of the greatest
inventions which has been evolved from mechanical to electronic to colour to digital to smart
and now 3D versions. People typically spend around 4-8 hours watching TV per day and it has
drastically impacted family and social life.
8. Light Bulb

Inventor: Thomas Alva Edison

The invention of the light bulb developed throughout the 1800s with Thomas Edison attributed
as the primary inventor of a bulb that lasted for 1500 hours without burning out in 1879. The
idea was taken forward by many others to create a workable and bright light bulb that
revolutionized indoor living.
9. Penicillin

Inventor: Alexander Fleming

Accidently discovered in a bacteria infested Petri dish by Nobel Prize winner,

Alexander Fleming in 1928, Penicillin drug is a group of antibiotics that cures several
infections in human beings without harming them. The Penicillin was mass produced
during World War II to rid servicemen of venereal diseases and is still used as a standard
antibiotic for infections. It was one of the most famous discoveries made in the field of medicine.
10. Telephone

Inventor: Alexander Graham Bell

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell joined two cups with a thread at the bottom of both ends and
used it to talk from one end and listen from the other. This laid the foundation work for another
revolutionary invention that is today the attachment that we all carry in our hands or pockets.
The telephone which later also developed as a mobile phone has had life-saving impact on
mankind especially in the field of business and communication. The extension of audible speech
from within one room and across the world is a work unrivaled till today.